This sweet + savoury pizza has a simple garlic olive oil base with caramelised onion, thinly sliced squash, and blue cheese. It’s topped with green chillies and a crunchy honey-rosemary-pecan topping! Not your traditional pizza, but perfect for Autumn, as butternut squash is in peak season.
Vegetarian
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- Ingredients needed
- Equipment needed (pizza stone + alternative)
- Assembling the pizza
- More Autumn recipes
Ingredients needed
- Pizza dough. Make your favourite pizza dough or buy premade pizza dough (not crust/precooked base).
- Butternut squash. Butternut works the best in this recipe because it’s sweeter and less stringy than other types of squash.
- Onion. I recommend a yellow or white onion for caramelising. Red onion also works, if that’s all you have!
- Extra-virgin olive oil. High quality olive oil is an essential for pizza!
- Garlic. Fresh pressed garlic is added to the olive oil for a simple base.
- Blue cheese. Or blue stilton, or gorgonzola!
- Pecans + rosemary + honey + sea salt. You’ll need these ingredients to make the crunchy topping!
- Green chillies. Fresh jalapeños (not jarred) would be a great substitute, although they are almost impossible to find in the UK.
Equipment Needed (pizza stone + alternative)
If you have a pizza stone— place it in the oven as it preheats, carefully take it out and assemble your pizza, then place it back into the oven and cook until the pizza is done (according to recipe instructions).
If you don’t have a pizza stone— assemble the pizza on a floured piece of foil/parchment paper on top of a flipped over baking tray. Then, carefully slide the foil/parchment paper (with the pizza) from the baking tray straight onto the wire rack of the oven. When the pizza is done, pull the foil/parchment paper (with the pizza) back onto to the flipped over baking tray.
Assembling the pizza
Step 1. First, prepare the squash and caramelised onion. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF and line a baking tray. Peel the butternut squash and slice into thin pieces (~4mm). Use the top of the squash where there are no seeds, then halve the slices. Add to baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and cook for 10 minutes. The squash should be cooked through— it will char later when cooked on the pizza.
Meanwhile, heat a pan with a teaspoon of olive oil. Add the sliced onions and cook on medium head for the first 5 minutes, then reduce to low heat and cook for 35 minutes. Stir occasionally— the onions should brown, but not burn or dry out. Add a splash of water when needed. Set the cooked squash and caramelised onions aside.
Step 2. Preheat your oven to the hottest setting (250ºC/480ºF +). Stretch and shape your pizza dough. Avoid using a rolling pin, as this creates a flat pizza crust. The toppings for this recipe are perfect for an 11-12″ pizza.
Step 3. Place your stretched pizza dough on a preheated pizza stone or alternative (see Equipment Needed). Drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil onto the pizza base, avoiding the edges for the crust to rise. Then sprinkle on the fresh pressed garlic followed by the caramelised onions. Add the cooked slices of squash next, the edges can slightly overlap. Sprinkle on the blue cheese, then pop into the oven for 7-10 minutes.
Step 4. Meanwhile, add the pecans to a dry pan on medium heat. Once lightly toasted, turn off the heat.
Add the rosemary to a food processor and blitz into small pieces. Then add the pecans and lightly blitz for a few more seconds. We want a nice crunchy topping, so be careful not to blitz too much. Pour the rosemary and pecan mixture into a small bowl and mix in the honey and sea salt. Set aside.
Step 5. When the squash and caramelised onion pizza is done cooking, add the honey-rosemary-pecan topping and green chillies. Enjoy!
More Autumn Recipes
- Honey Roasted Parsnip Spelt Grain Bowl
- Creamy Cauliflower and Carrot Soup with Tarragon
- Pan Seared Gnocchi with Roasted Pumpkin Purée
- Roasted Tomato and Butternut Squash Pasta
Butternut Squash and Caramelised Onion Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 serving of pizza dough
- 100 g butternut squash
- 1 onion (small-medium), sliced
- 40 g blue cheese or ~¼ cup
- 1½-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 30 g pecans or ¼ cup
- 1 sprig of rosemary (removed from stem)
- 1 tsp honey
- pinch of sea salt flakes
- ½ green chilli, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF and line a baking tray. Peel the butternut squash and slice into thin pieces (~4mm). Use the top of the squash where there are no seeds, then halve the slices. Add to the baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and cook for 10 minutes. The squash should be cooked through— it will char later when cooked on the pizza.Heat a pan with a dollop of olive oil. Add the sliced onions and cook on medium heat for the first 5 minutes, then reduce to low heat and cook for 35 minutes. Stir occasionally— the onions should brown, but not burn or dry out. Add a splash of water when needed. Set the cooked squash and caramelised onions aside.
- Preheat your oven to the hottest setting (250ºC/480ºF +). Stretch and shape your pizza dough. Avoid using a rolling pin, as this creates a flat pizza crust.
- Place your stretched pizza dough on preheated pizza stone or alternative (see notes). Drizzle ½ tbsp of olive oil onto the pizza base, avoiding the edges for the crust to rise. Then sprinkle on the fresh pressed garlic followed by the caramelised onions. Add the cooked slices of squash next, the edges can slightly overlap. Sprinkle on the blue cheese then pop into the oven for 7-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the pecans to a dry pan on medium heat. Once lightly toasted, turn off the heat.Add the rosemary to a food processor and blitz into small pieces. Then add the pecans and lightly blitz for a few more seconds. We want a nice crunchy topping, so be careful not to blitz too much. Pour the rosemary and pecan mixture into a small bowl and mix in the honey and sea salt. Set aside.
- When the pizza is done cooking, add the honey-rosemary-pecan topping and green chillies. Enjoy!
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